Health care merger talks collapse between Beth Israel and two other parties

Three-way merger talks among Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Lahey Health of Burlington, and the Atrius Health confederation of doctors groups have collapsed, the parties are set to tell their employees Friday.

The negotiations, begun last April and quietly extended in November, would have created a health care system rivaling Partners Health Care System, the parent of Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s hospitals, in size and scope.

But the parties, while sharing a vision for affordable and more coordinated care, could not come to terms on issues that included leadership, according to people close to the talks.

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In a joint statement, they said their conversations had been productive but “we have mutually decided to discontinue those discussions to focus attention on significant initiatives we are individually pursuing while leaving open the possibility of a more substantial partnership at a later date.”